[PART 1 & 2] In The Beginning

 SHOWING THE WORLD HOW TO GIVE AND RECEIVE FROM THE HEART

Part 1

Every story has a beginning, it has to start that way, the simple and unassuming beginning that blossoms into something completely outrageous. Yesterday, an ordinary email from my email friend John ended like this:

"Oh, you WON'T BELIEVE the gift I got from my soul-sistah, Laura, a couple of weeks ago.  It is the coolest physical gift anybody ever gave me.  I have to think of how even to describe it to you.  It came in a beautiful little paper gift bag with a pretty pattern on it, the kind with little rope handles.  And inside of this maybe 10  inch high bag... well, it was like a pirate's treasure chest.  It still is.  I've been gawking at it for weeks and hesitate to dig in."

I had been packing for my move all morning and I guess it didn't register that the gift was not a literal pirates chest...I guess I was just too focused on other things at the moment and I replied, "your gifty sounds cool!" It wasn't long before I got another response from John.

"So don't you want to know what was in the bag??  God, you suck at taking the bait!  I always fall for your cliff-hangers..."

John was right...and so I had to reread his original email...of course I want to know what was in the bag! It wasn't some box that looked like a pirates chest...I always take things so literally. He sent a photo of the pretty little gift bag to me on my cell. Okay...but what was in it? Hello John!

Of course I wanted to know...and what was in the bag is shown on [Part 2], and soon John revealed that he was going to use this gift, this act of giving to "Pay It Forward" to others in a way that would bring happiness and thoughts of giving to others....to show people that a single act of giving can domino into more and more and make some truly incredible changes! The Little Bag That Could is the story of what John did with the bag and how it became possible to make positive changes in the lives of others. It also chronicles the giving that others began to do in the spirit of this project. Read on to see how big of a gift this journey has really turned out to be!

Part 2

John sent me an mp3 shortly after. John does voice media so sometimes he records an email to me.

John:
"Okay so now I'm in my booth and I'm sitting in front of this bag, and I pull the little strings off and on top, first thing is this silver box with a pretty silver bow and a card that says, 'John, with love and gratitude, Lola and Bob'
Now Lola is my friend forever, since we were in highschool. We used to double date with our separate partners, um, and we became like life friends. She even helped me to get into voice-over. But anyway, and Bob is her partner. So, I've done some voice-over work from her for the last couple of years. She and her life-partner run a medical group that offers extended-hour family medical care. Um, and I don't take money because I love her and I'd never take money from her (such is the kind of friend John is). So that's the deal. I guess she got me back by giving me this present because I didn't take money.
So here it is...I got the little silver box, and inside the silver box, well first off it has Nordstrom on the side, and I don't know if you've ever been in Nordstrom (I haven't...I live out in the hills), I haven't, but my wife says it's fantastic, upscale department store where you can buy really nice clothes and shit like that.

So anyway, its got one, two...envelopes with gift certificates in it, and it's eight $25 gift certificates in it. So that's $200 for Nordstrom. (I was thinking, wow, how cool and sweet!...but that was just the beginning).

And underneath that is another silver box in this bag...and it's also for Nordstrom, and it's another eight
$25 dollar gift certificates, so we've got like $400 to Nordstroms, it's like 'whoa' and I don't even know what to do, I don't even go to Nordstrom but Debbie's like, "we'll get you something nice at Nordstrom."



Then I open it back up and it has these three pretty little bags, these Oriental bags and they say, 'PF Changs'. I've never been to PF Changs either but other people around me are going, 'you'll LOVE PF Changs, it's so good!'

Three bags and in each bag is a $100 gift certificate. So that's $300 to PF Changs.

(Such a pretty card!!!)

Now inside this bag, is another pretty little bag, a miniature bag within the bag. And it's filled with more cards!

First is to this restaurant called McCormick and Schmick's (sp?) Seafood Restaurant and I looked it up online and it looks fantastic! They have them at different places around the country but I have to find one. There's one close to here. $100 for McCormick and Schmick's. (John does this cute little sing-song voice, 'Yaaaaayyyy.....Awesooome!' and I couldn't help but smile. I was SO excited for him!)

And then (you mean there's MORE?! Holy Crikey!)....I have...The Cheesecake Factory! (John is like a walking advertisement on this recording and it's so cool to hear him, because he's totally doing voice-over on this and probably doesn't realize it! haha)
Ten $10 certificates for that! So that's $100 bucks for The Cheesecake Factory. This doesn't suck. (again with the excited kid at Christmas voice he did there and I giggled...twice...first time and then again to transcribe it to you all).

And then, and I hope you've been there, it's really a great place...then there's this Panera Bread (been there, done that, love that!)...it's GREAT, if you haven't had Panera Bread, it's awesome, it's like this sandwich and soup place (used to live in front of one when I lived in the city...went there alot to chill) and it's just really killer. It's a big chain, like Starbucks...so I got ten $25 gift certificates to Panera Bread. o/`$250 dollars to Panera Bread o/` (he sings to me).

Okay and that (he breaks in with the movie theatre voice-over) 'But wait, THAT'S NOT ALL, Caller'!

Then I get these cool little silver boxes in the bag...to Chipotle...and my kids go, "Chipotle! Can we have those?!" Because Chipotle is this really great...look up their website...it's all naturally raised beef, pork and chicken Mexican Restaurant. So I got these two little boxes with four $25 gift cards in each so that's $200 for Chipotle. o/`Not too sucky o/` (he's got that right and I haven't ever been to Chipotle...but I'm really digging the excitement and the really coolness of this woman's gesture of gratitude.)

Next in this little bag are three $50 gift certificates to Eastern Mountain Sports...love that place. Can get camping stuff.

Then I get four Bed Bath & Beyond cards for $100 a piece...I've never been there, but I'm sure there are cool things we can get at Bed Bath & Beyond...(Oh...you have no idea, John...that place rocks!)

And then something I just adore ...Whole Foods...THREE $100 gift certificates to Whole Foods (don't know what that is John!).....this is pretty intense, right? I mean, I'm just overwhelmed...I've opened this so many times I don't sound overwhelmed but I'm just like...I cried (I won't tell anyone, John...just the world, because your tears are happy tears! *grins*) when I got them because it was like, 'somebody loves me that much?!' (friends do tend to do that, guy) It's just overwhelming, I've never gotten anything like this.

So now I'm holding Target gift cards. I've got ten $50 gift cards. $500 to Target in front of me. Ten. A...stack of Target cards.

And then the last thing in the bottom of the little bag is...Starbucks. TEN $25 gift certificates. $250 to Starbucks. (Lola, John already bounces off the walls! haha)

'BUT WAIT, THAT'S NOT ALL', (comes the announcer movie guy voice)

I got back into the bag...the big bag, and underneath...aaare (he's looking)....four $50 gift cards to this cool looking restaurant...check it out online, it's called Brio Tuscan Grille (NOM), it's upscale, an upscale chain of wonderful looking Italian and steak kinda stuff.

Theeen I go deeper into the bag and I have FOUR...Barnes & Noble $50 gift cards...$200 to Barnes & Noble (Sweet! Well...I'm a bookworm, hehe). This is getting sick right? (Well...if you mean throwing up with being stuffed on coolness, then yes...QUITE sick. hehe) But the bag's got a little bit more left. (How did I just blase' say, 'your gifty sounds cool!'? Understatement).

I have two envelopes...and each envelope has a Morton's The Steakhouse $100 gift certificate. Morton's I just hear is fantastic. It really is. I love Outback and this is supposed to like blow Outback away (no way! *gasp*)

Then I have another, and then she gives me two envelopes for Ruths Chris Steakhouse (sp?) which is supposed to be INCREDIBLE...same deal...$200 for more fantastic steaks.

And last...but not least...at the bottom of the bag is...BEST BUY card! (guys dream)...fourteen (WTF?!) $50 BEST BUY cards....(he sounds breathless) $700...BEST BUY.

(affects singsong again) o/`Thank youuu LOLA....o/`

I mean, is that cool? Is that overwhelming?! It's just..I, I have had this for weeks and I just...I don't even wanna spend it! (givers have trouble getting sometimes...I understand...but that's what she wanted you to do...is ACCEPT). I don't want to take it apart, it's too...SPECIAL. So awesome and it's brought so many 'oohs and ahhhs' to the people I show it to and people start talking about they want to give and do something like that and it's gotten all these conversations started and it's like my teaching tool about giving...and...it's just wonderful for people. It has inspired people to think about the act of giving and how special it is...and I'm telling you, this BAG has brought a whole lot of joy and laughs and cool conversation. And I have like the BEST friend in the whole world. That was the sweetest, nicest, darn greatest awesomest thing. And there you have it! I'll talk to you soon. Bye.

(he also tells me about her facebook page and their photos together as little kids)

How cool is that people?!

Part 3 - It Didn't End There
Special Thanks To Laura & Bob